What's your price on safety?

At what point do you start thinking of changing out your car for a newer model, not necessarily a brand new car, but, a late model with stability control, ABS, front and side curtain airbags, Bluetooth audio system and other things like parking sensors, backup camera etc.

They did a study on the Internet and you can see this on YouTube between a 1959 Chevy Impala and a 2009 Chevy Malibu.... The 2009 car had no major damage to the passenger compartment, while the dummy occupants in the 1959 car were gone.....

So, what's your price on safety?? Saving money is all academic if you are not around to enjoy it.

I personally know someone who ran into the equivalent of a brick wall going over 40 MPH with a 2010 Subaru Outbackk Limited and walked away unharmed from the accident even though the car was totaled.

12 Answers

And there in lies the problem, with all this rediclious stuff that they
keep adding in, people forget how to drive like they should. Granted
things like air bags, anti lock brakes and stabliaziation are good but
they should also come with an off switch, there have been many
times I wish I could have turned off the antilock, especially on ice
and snow. Parking sensors? Just learn how to park. Backup
cameras? If your aware of your surroundings and checking your
mirrors like you should you don't need it either. And these audio
systems I think they should do away with them, just a normal radio
with traffic update channel for the drive to and from work or
wherever. Personally I would rather have a 59 than one of these
newer rigs. And that is what they are afraid of, an old tank like that
can just lay waste to anything newer out today if it did get in a
crash.

SO, you really would rather have the '59 ???
My first car was a 57 Chevy...it was cool, I had it in high school..
NO, I wouldn't feel safe in it today.
Watch this video and let me know what you think?
And, as far as backup cameras, maybe you don't live in a major
metropolitan area like SoCal, but, if you did, you would definitely
want these upgrades....
http://bgr.com/2016/01/26/car-crash-test-viral-video/

Boy where did they find that rusted out 59, did you see the rust fly
when it was hit, no I would still take a 59 but not that one, I wonder
just how badly rusted out it was under that paint. Poor 59, it's a
shame they wrecked it that way. Beside what's stopping a guy from
putting safety equipment in an old tank like that, sure it would cost
but it then really would be rock solid.

tennisshoes, Hi, yes, it's remarkable what technology can do....I
really think that trying to retrofit an old '59 as cool as they were
would not be the same as something newer built from the ground
up. I had a 1957 Chevy Bel Air....I know that they were cool, but, in
today's world, it's a gas guzzling monster and not even as safe as a
modern vehicle. Trying to retrofit any of these cars from the 1950s
would be like telling someone to spend a lot of money to re-design
the car to get 50 MPG.....

My very first car was a 1952 it got 41mpg, had a top speed of
55mph, was put together by myself from pieces of two cars, it was
a Nash. So even back then they could get great mileage if they
were tuned right, but everyone was sold on big blocks, big
horsepower and big fuel consumption, big speeding tickets. But I
think it would be cool to retro one of the monsters of that time with
everything they have today just to see if it can be done. I have seen
classic car body's put on late model frames with high tech engines
and trannies, but none of the safety goodies. Could prove
interesting.

tennisshoes- Interesting, so, you are talking about the Nash
Metropolitan?? I see on Wikipedia that it's listed as an economy car.
I was was recently at a car show and they had a couple of really nice
samples including a few for sale.. these very strange looking cars
apparently have quite a price command for an almost 65 year old
car. Here's the link below for you, is this the car ?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Metropolitan

Yep, I modified mine and opened up the wheel wells and adjusted
the steering gear stops so the thing could turn a corner. Only real
problem with it was if you ran through snow or slush and it froze
that night the clutch pedal would freeze the pivot and rod for the
hydraulic clutch, so you couldn't go anywhere until you thawed it
out.

tennisshoes-. So, how long did you have your car and when did you
sell it... I guess these cars have become collectible ... here's a
remarkable convertible in spectacular condition... I'm not sure of the
year, but, think it's a 1956?

One of the two parts and pieces came from a wrecked one, it got
hit by a train right at the rear end differential, it survived surprisingly
well, I think cause it was so light that it was just spun out of the
way, it did almost rip the differential loose.

Maybe you should move mark... Nobody cares about the traffic
you deal with. Move to a small town, sell your aging pos 2010
SO, buy a used car you can learn to work on, maybe even a
straight drive. Buy something that definitely doesn't have a
warranty. You could even put a big yellow "student driver" sign
on top and a "baby on board" sign in all the back windows. You
should also mark this as "best answer".